In a rain soaked Formula 3 race at Silverstone, Roman Bilinski made the most of the strategic chaos throughout the field, finding the pace to climb from 16th on the grid to fourth in the feature race.
It was a weekend that started off slowly for Bilinski, the polish driver qualifying in the mid-pack for both races around Silverstone. A prospect that at first looked grim but quickly brightening with the forecast of rain.
Rain frequently causes chaos in Formula 3, resulting in safety cars, spins, and various grid-wide tactics. Fortunes can change in a second, and it is up to teams to make the right decisions at the perfect time. For Roman, the strategic mix played into his favour.
Bilinski ended the race in P4, but his pace was pushing him towards a podium, thwarted at the end of the race only by a safety car. Speaking after the race Bilinski was open about the ‘crazy’ aspects of the race.
He said, “It was a crazy race. There was a little bit of rain forecast, probably not the amount that we ended up getting, but we had a good strategy with starting on the Wet tyre.”
“I got as much temperature in as I could and just filled all the spaces that were available on the first lap, made up some positions and managed it well from there. I picked people off one by one, and it ended up as a good result.”
Quick decisions
it was up to teams and drivers to make the decision of which driver to start the race on. Notably at Silverstone the front-runner and championship leaders all decided to begin the race on slicks, while further down the grid Bilinski was sure of the decision to start on wet weather tyres.
He said, “I was very convinced by the decision that it would be Wets. Last year was a bit chaotic with Wets versus slicks, and with how the conditions were still very overcast, I didn’t see it drying up, and it was a good decision in the end.”
“It’s really tricky because the first few laps, you’re still building up the grip, so it’s quite nice when you can find that little bit more. Suddenly, the rain is coming down heavier, each corner there’s a bit less grip, and you don’t know what is too much or too little.”
It is up to the driver to be able to decide if the track is dry enough for slick, often being the only ones who can truly feel if the track is ready. Bilinski admitted that many drivers on the grid are used to racing in the rain which helps them build that near subconscious knowledge of the track conditions.
“So, it’s difficult. I’m sure all us drivers have done lots of wet weather races, so we learn a lot about what we need to do.”
With the wet tyres on as the rain continued to come down at the British GP, Bilinski had the grip, coupled with the speed to cut his way through the pack until the podium positions were well within sight.
Qualifying on the back foot
Qualifying has been one of the Rodin driver’s bigger struggles this season. Although Bilinski has typically shown the pace needed to fight at the front, collecting podiums in Australia and Monaco. Qualifying in the mid-pack presents him with an even greater challenge.
In Silverstone, Bilinski was particularly critical of his qualifying performance. Especially as the Rodin Driver was on a spectacular lap until a slight issue in sector two left him far further down the order.
He said, “I think overall it was a good result. It’s a bit of a shame that in qualifying we had a couple of issues, which meant we couldn’t maximise what could have been. But this stuff happens in motorsport.”
“I’m a bit disappointed. Purple sector one and sector three was pretty much purple too, but sector two I was a second down.”
However, despite the struggles in qualifying the recovery left Roman Bilinski with a strong points finish. The result leaves him tenth in the championship just 27 points away from the top five. The P4 was a comforting fact that Bilinski was happy to take from the weekend.
“There’s fantastic potential there, but these things happen and to recover to where we did and get those points is the most important thing.”
“Hopefully we can keep up these points scoring results. That’s the main thing at the end of the day. I’ll be doing the best job I can, and we’ll see where we end up.”
Formula 3 heads into Spa and Hungary before the summer break, then returning for the season finale in Monza. With three rounds left Bilinski has to make the most of every session at each weekend, fighting to prove himself as one of the highest performing rookies on the F3 grid.
